CAIRO – An Egyptian court has confirmed the death sentences of more than 180 Islamists, including the top leader of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Lawyers say the ruling, which was confirmed Saturday, can be overturned on appeal. It was not immediately clear how many sentences had been confirmed, with lawyers giving estimates ranging from 182 to 197.

Lawyers boycotted the opening of the trial on March 25 to protest an earlier mass death sentence by the judge. A month after that session, the judge sentenced 683 people to death, including the Muslim Brotherhood's Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie.

The case is rooted in retaliatory attacks on a police station in the southern city of Minya on Aug. 14, after police dispersed an Islamist sit-in in Cairo, killing hundreds.